How could education be better?
All kids have extraordinary talent. We squander them, pretty ruthlessly
– Sir Ken Robinson
The current system
We often think of living an American dream. We call USA as a progressive country. But we do not think of India likewise. Why? What’s the problem? Why we are not as progressive as developed countries?
Education is by far the critical aspect. It decides our cumulative fate in this world. The more educated the society, the better the living environment- better hygiene, manners, wealth, planning, and the social systems. Tt is thus a vital deciding factor that defines our ideology. If India would’ve been on the forefront of education and everyone would be well-educated, many would’ve not thought of moving abroad.
But we cannot put the young generation in the same cycles that we went through. We cannot keep the brain-drain happening. Else we will never be able to cultivate a culture of talent – a culture without which innovation, research, and progress will rarely happen.
Today, we have two challenges:
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- To improve the educational landscape
- To improve the social standards – local landscape, ideology, and wellbeing
Both of these to-do’s are inter-related.
Before we understand what needs to be done, let’s learn what’s not working.
The educations system till today was designed to cater to the industrial needs. Here is why the education system was established.
The purpose of current education
The current education system was established in the British Era.
Imagine how the social and economic structure used to be in those times. It was industrial era. The goal of education was thus simple. To provide manpower to cater to industrial demand. They needed skilled laborers and skilled workers who would either manage unskilled laborers or heavy machines.
With a mission to grow the output capacity and efficiency of industries, the education system was designed to provide for the industrial needs – mathematics, science, and management were the key subjects.
Schooling became a vital part of a human life as the demand for formal workforce grew.
Today, the face of industry has changed. Science and Mathematics gave birth to technologies like transportation (Trains, airplanes, and cars), . Everything we see today, is stacked on the foundations of these STEM branches. STEM is still a trending career and is on the forefront of student’s career decision and learning experience.
STEM is what brought us comfort, connectivity, and economic prosperity. But at what cost?
The current education system is STEM focused
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
STEM subjects are crucial for skill and personal development. STEM help build critical thinking abilities, innovation, curiosity, imagination, higher order thinking skills, research, and problem solving.
But, there’s a problem.
These skills should be made use for shared growth. Unfortunately, people are using these skills to get a comfortable job.
And that’s not the only problem. Ideally, other equally important skills such as arts, yoga, sports, and humanities are completely ignored. These careers are looked as less statusy.
The current education system is job oriented
Today, the biggest goal of most of humans is to get into a company or government job and live a stable comfortable life. This mentality is an outcome of growing demand of money making careers. We’re becoming super consumers. We are restricting our lives only to money and financial security.
Don’t you think this is bad for social growth?
We cannot keep going the same way because our current approach is not solving any problems.
Today along with poverty, and all the existing issues, we are facing climate crisis. And our faulty system is responsible for putting our future generation into a threat.
We need to improve our education system. We need to find ways. And the good thing is, the new approaches already exist. The only hurdle is our willingness to adapt.
With new education system coming up, we are ready to make way to close the gap.
Here’s how we can make it happen.
The gap
The previous generations lived in scarcity. They had limited access to resources. Today, that’s not the case. We now have ample for everyone’s needs. Most people are living a flourishing life. Wealth is more fluid. This is the right time to close many gaps that remained earlier.
The gaps include:
Personal – Education should enable youngsters to engage with the world within them as well as the world around them
Economic – Balancing the economic divide
Social – Creating a thriving society
Cultural – Respect and understand diversity
We can make this possible only if we give direction and leadership to the new generation.
How can education system contribute in this? By creating a culture where every human life flourishes.
As per Sir Ken Robinson, “there are 3 principles on which human life flourish, and they are contradicted by the existing culture of education.
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- Human beings are naturally different and diverse
- Human life is driven by curiosity
- Human life is creative
However, today’s education is based on not diversity but conformity. We are narrowing the focus on STEM. They are necessary but not sufficient. A real education has to give equal weights to arts, humanities, physical education.
Curiosity is engine of achievement. Great teachers not only deliver information, but also mentor, stimulate, provoke, engage. The role of a teacher is to facilitate learning. But education has been dominated with testing. The role of education is to awaken and develop the power of creativity. Instead, we have standardization.
Reform in education is not enough. Reform simply improves the broken model. We need revolution in education that transforms into something else.
We have built our education on the model of fast food where everything is standardized.
We have to go from what is industrial model of education which is based on the principles of linearity, conformity and batching people and move to model that is based on principles of agriculture.”
How could education be better?
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- Education is not just about getting job or work.
Education is much more than just getting a job or work. It is a process of self-discovery and personal growth that can help individuals develop a sense of purpose and direction in life. Education can provide individuals with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in the workforce, but it also has broader benefits that extend beyond the workplace.
Education is about discovering inclination and purpose.
2. Education is not just about mental growth.
Education is often thought of as a process that focuses primarily on mental growth, such as acquiring knowledge, developing critical thinking skills, and enhancing cognitive abilities. However, education is not just about mental growth, but it also encompasses physical growth. Physical growth is an essential aspect of education because it contributes to the overall health and wellbeing of individuals. Regular exercise and physical activity are essential for maintaining a healthy body and mind. Exercise can help reduce the risk of chronic diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, and can also improve mental health by reducing stress and anxiety.
Education should have equal focus on physical growth
3. Education is not just about making money
Education is often seen as a means to achieve financial success, but its purpose goes beyond just making money. Education should aim to achieve holistic well-being, which includes physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual aspects of life.
Education should not be just about imparting knowledge, but it should also aim to develop individuals who can contribute positively to society. It should aim to develop critical thinking skills, problem-solving abilities, creativity, and innovation, which are essential to building a better future for all. Education should also help individuals develop empathy, compassion, and social responsibility, which are essential for promoting social justice, equity, and sustainable development.
Not making money but holistic wellbeing should be the outcome
4. Education is not just about STEM Education has long been dominated by a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects, and while these are undoubtedly important areas of study, it is crucial to recognize that education is not just about STEM. Invoking curiosity, creativity, and social sense should be the objective of education, alongside a focus on STEM subjects.
Invoking curiosity, creativity, and social sense should also be the objectives
Conclusion
In essence, education should aim to achieve holistic well-being by fostering curiosity, creativity, and social sense in all areas of study. It should prioritize personal growth, social responsibility, and the development of skills and attributes required for success in all areas of life. Ultimately, education should be a lifelong pursuit, enabling individuals to continuously grow, learn, and contribute to society.
However, the education system is too big. It will take time to improve. But we cannot wait. We as individuals, parents, should find ways to include these aspects while educating young minds. At 10xTechClub, we are contributing to enhance the educational experience of every learner. We are an Indian technology startup on a journey of building a unique skills-based program for young students. We are a science and tech lab focusing on emerging technologies like AI, IoT, Blockchain, Robotics, VR/AR, 3D printing, Drones, IoT, Cybersecurity, and deep tech fields.
We train and expose young minds in the areas of science, emerging technologies, innovation, soft skills, and develop foundational skills early in the learning journey using real-world projects and problems through our experience labs, connections with industry, academia, and domain experts.
At our offline labs, we run cohorts for 11- 20 year learners. Our collaborative class integrates emerging technologies, entrepreneurship, growth mindset, and design thinking into each learning session.
Interested to know about us? Join us for a fun and exciting demo session to explore possibilities. Register for a free demo class happening near you – https://10xtechclub.com/events/list/
